The Curious George Questionnaire #9
Funny, fabulous C.K. Steefel has entered the chat!
She: “We enter this world crying but should exit laughing.” That is George’s guest C.K. Steefel in her own words, which need the embroidery, T-shirt, billboard, and Banksy treatment. C.K. is a performer, writer, and top-tier curiosity-seeker. She runs the Substack Good Humor , a welcome lighthouse of levity on these roiling twenty-first century seas. And much like George, she has made it her mission to sit down and chat with intriguing, witty women in her Funny AF Women interview series. Welcome C.K.!
MM: “Sgt. Mike Cosgrove of the Curious George Police Squad A reporting for duty! On the roster for the day, one C.K. Steefel, who would like to report a ‘hit and fun.’ I’d be happy to write up a citation and pass it along to Commissioner George who, no doubt, will be closely following the incident.”
In other news, George’s time with C.K. was eye-opening to say the least and, at best, awe-inspiring. He thinks you will more than agree. Case closed!
C.K. Steefel Answers The Curious George Questionnaire!
To me, curiosity is:
Everything. It’s how we learn, discover, innovate, and connect. Curiosity never killed the cat; it made him wiser. (The actual full idiom is, “Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back." Curious that the suffix is never included.)
There’s no such thing as a “dumb” question. Anyone who tells you otherwise is dumb, and you should report them to the Curious George Police Squad A. It shall be known forthwith that Squad B is for those who have never heard of this series of books.
Describe a road not taken. Any regrets?
Regrets lead to an unhappy road that’s from an obsolete map.
I do ponder though. Pondering is harmless because it’s in the imagination and can create a story. I ponder what would have happened had I majored in English instead of Theatre Arts. I ponder if I would be a-- bedder rider wud my speling and grammar be, up, to par? I ponder what might have happened had I started that business. I once pondered about putting a few stories into a screenplay format and optioned one and sold another. Two years ago, I pondered about starting a Substack.
Me, pondering…
Tell us how you fill your curiosity well…
I prefer people over the inanimate. I love talking to strangers whether I’m in another county, country, or at home outside Seattle. In late-December, I had to get a CBC blood panel. I asked the Phlebotomist what she was doing for the holidays. She mentioned Christmas with a boyfriend and a mom back in the Philippines. When she asked me, I told her we celebrate Chanukah. As my blood flooded the vacutainer tube, she gleefully mentioned she was half Jewish and that she would like to learn more about the religion. We had a lovely chat until the tube was full and she wrapped the blue surgical tape around my elbow. On my ride home, I thought about her intriguing mix of backgrounds, countries, religions, and cultures. My curiosity led to a connection with a stranger who was fortunately good with a needle.
Wonder or awe? Why?
Awe. It’s more inspiring. “Awe-inspiring.” Yes, it’s a cliché but aren’t they usually derived from truth?
Wonder is when I’m watching a movie based on a true story and an actor looks familiar, so I click on IMDB and find out where else I’ve seen her. Awe is when that story is so gripping I must read the book. I want to know everything about that person, their family, history, etc.
I might wonder about that tree in my front yard, but if I’m in awe I will read about this 80 foot Western Red Cedar that greets guests to our home. It’s an immortal tree that continues to grow during a sunless, wet winter and a dry summer. Hubby and I were in such awe, we named it Artemis (the twin sister of Apollo—our dog’s name).
I’m also in awe of the authors of “Curious George.” Hans and Margret Rey escaped Nazi-Paris in 1940 on bicycles!
How would you spend your last day on earth?
With family and our Springer Spaniel. We’d start the morning with gratitude which means listening to Louis Armstrong’s, “What a Wonderful World,” and for the rest of the day we’d play really fun board games like Blank Slate or Mad Libs.
We enter this world crying but should exit laughing.
My life philosophy is_____
Live life like you’re in a jacuzzi. Make sure the temperature is right for you, investigate the other seats so you’re not always in one place, invite friends, but enjoy alone time too, turn off the bubbles now and then; quiet is good, do a water dance, don’t annoy the neighbors by playing Cher’s Believe over and over, and stay away from that jet that’s out of control.
And look what George found …
For more about C.K.
C.K. Steefel is a highly accomplished writer (essays, screenplays) and performer. Her one-woman comedy received the Backstage Bistro Award (New York) and a Top Ten Best New Plays in the Village View (Los Angeles). She is the witty woman behind the popular Substack, Good Humor.
Who’s the CGQ Crew?
About She: Sheila Moeschen is a humorist, writer, photographer, and salty New Englander. You can find her on Substack at Stay Curious.
About MM: Michael Maupin helms the StoryShed Substack (among other things) and is a recovering screenwriter, book and magazine editor, and lifelong diarist.
About George: George is a man of letters, leisure, and all things interesting. Named after the fabled monkey—eccentric or genius parentage, who knows?—he’s made it his mission to discover the most fascinating, unique, and curious people like YOU. Good work if you can get it.
Oh, and Carly Simon definitely wrote that song about him.
Thank you for including me in this series. The questions made me think deeply. Love “hit and fun.”
I'm so glad C.K. offered this: "The actual full idiom is, “Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back." I had been thinking about what a stifling maxim this was to lay on us kids back in grade school. I only remembered the first part, too. BTW, I'm reading a lot of "Curious George" books to my grandson, who is most impressed by the colorful balloons George grabs from the balloon man in one of the early books.